


Blind

by Noctua_Adagio



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Gets heavy towards the end, Identity Reveal, Sexual Content Eventually, Underage cause of American Age limits, smut towards the end
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-06-08 01:04:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6832549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noctua_Adagio/pseuds/Noctua_Adagio
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Marinette goes blind, fighting as LadyBug, she has to rediscover her senses to learn the truth about what happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Asleep

Marinette woke up to the sounds of a hospital, in a daze. There was a beeping next to her, and as she began to move, she heard her mother’s voice.

“Mari! You’re alright! I was so worried about you!” She felt her mother’s embrace, but didn’t speak. Her mother’s tears were cold against her skin, and she gently pat her mother’s head. She then felt the warmth of her father, hugging her over her mother. His tears were also cold, against her. They’d been crying for a long while.

“Maman, Papa why were you crying? Why am I here?” She barely whispered, her throat dry.

“Mari… Oh Mari…” They pulled away, staring at their child, Sabine’s hand lingering. “Open your eyes, please look at us.”

Marinette did as told, but saw no difference. She heard her parents gasp, and quickly panicked.

“Maman, Papa why can’t I see you? What’s going on?” She teared up in worry.

“Oh Marinette,” Her father cupped her face in his hands, “Marinette, the doctors worried this is what would happen. They tried to flush your eyes, they really did. Mon dieu, Marinette, I’m sorry we couldn’t get you here sooner.”

“Papa, what happened?” The first tear ran down her face.

“You got pen ink in your eye. There was so much ink. You headed downstairs, to flush your eyes in the big sink, but fell.” Her mother explained quietly. “You’ve been unconscious for four hours.”

“No, no that’s not right.” She cried. “This is just a bad dream. Are you saying I’m blind?”

“Yes, Mari, I’m so sorry. You’re blind.” Her mother sobbed, draping her body across her crying daughter. The next few moments were a blur for her, as Marinette’s pulse skyrocketed with a panic attack. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, and didn’t understand how she had messed up so badly. It was a mess, and in her last moments of consciousness, before the sudden stress made her pass out again, all that came to mind was Chat Noir.

* * *

After three days, Marinette was released from the hospital, showing no signs of brain trauma, and only needing for her eyes to heal. The blow to the head as well as the ink in her eyes surely did a number on her. She was instructed to take it easy for a week, and stay home. Yeah like she was going to do that. As soon as she got home, she asked her mother for the house phone and called Alya. It was a brief conversation.

“Hello? Mrs. Cheng is Marinette alright?”

“Hey Alya. I’m out of the hospital.” She smiled, hearing her best friend scream into the phone.

“I’ll be there in ten. Stay in bed and don’t movie. I’m bringing treats!” And Alya hung up without saying goodbye. Marinette groaned, gently dropping the phone on the floor, and rolling over. Her room was different since she couldn’t see. Everything was. Tikki flew over to Marinette, and sat down on her shoulder.

“Marinette, are you alright?” She hugged the obviously sad girl.

“Hey Tikki. No, I’m not alright. I’m blind. I’m blind from a stupid pen.” She groaned.

“You are? I could’ve sworn it was from Smut.” The kwami trailed off.

“Smut? What do you mean smut?”

“The akuma you fought before going blind. Don’t you remember, Marinette?”

“I don’t remember anything from that day. Only seeing my parents in the hospital, and having a panic attack before passing out.”

“Well, the reason you got ink in your eyes, was the akuma. She was a writer and-” Her Kwami’s word were cut short by her mother entering the room.

“Marinette, Alya is downstairs. She brought you some surprises. Would you like to speak with her?” Sabine spoke gently, not wanting to alarm her daughter.

“Yes, Maman. Please send her up the stairs.” Marinette sat up, gently placing Tikki into her jacket pocket.

“Alright, you just sit tight.” She smiled, speaking while heading back down the stairs. The room was dead silent before she heard someone coming up again.

“Marinette! Are you okay?” Her best friend shouted, entering the room.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She smiled, reaching her arms out to hug Alya. It lasted for a moment,

before the trap door opened again.

“Marinette, I brought you some chocolate.” It was a boy’s voice this time. “I was going to bring it to you at the hospital, because most hospitals don’t have chocolate, but since you’re home, you get it at home.” He laughed a bit, to try to make her smile, before she processed who it was. It was Adrien. Her face quickly flushed, and she smiled.

“Oh, thank you Adrien, but I’m going to have to decline, it’s not that I don’t like chocolate, it’s just really hard for me to eat considering I can’t see, and how would I even be able to get the box, I can’t see your face even though I really want to. I mean I don’t really want to see your face, I mean I want to see your face but not really really like I like seeing your face really, not that I don’t like seeing your face it’s just that-” She began to dig herself into a hole before Alya cut her off.

“What she means, is that she can’t see enough to feed herself, and she’s very thankful, and needs someone to feed her.” Alya smiled, and Marinette tried to hide her face.

“Oh, I’ll help you have the chocolate, don’t worry! I took that into account when I got it for you. I figured if you were struggling with hand eye coordination, I’d help you get it in your mouth. Or well, not hand _eye_ coordination, since you’re blind, but you get what I mean.” He laughed, Alya laughing along. Marinette just nodded, her mind adrift with the thoughts of Adrien feeding her chocolate. Adrien having his hands so close to her mouth. Adrien wiping the bit of melted chocolate at the corner of her mouth, no licking it off. Oh yeah.

“So you want the chocolate?” Alya placed her hand on Marinette’s knee, and out came a very slow and mildly erotic “Yes.”

“Oh that excited?” She laughed, snapping Marinette out of her day dreams.

“No! I mean yes! I mean… I wasn’t paying attention I’m sorry.” She hung her head in shame, and Alya laughed.

“Don’t worry, I figured you wouldn’t be. Oh Adrien, you can sit in that chair right there. Just pull it up.” Alya gestured to Marinette’s computer chair, as she took a seat on the chaise that Marinette was laying on. “Also, why aren’t you in bed, I told you to stay in bed Marinette.”

“I can’t do stairs well.” She muttered, and Alya just laughed.

“You can never do stairs well.”

Adrien pulled the computer chair over, sitting down, and Marinette’s head popped up in sudden realization. All her pictures of him were still on her wall. He saw all of them when he got the computer chair. He must think she’s a weirdo, that’s why it took so long for him to bring over the chair.

“So, how’s the LadyBlog?” Asked Marinette, trying to think about literally anything else than her “love-session” or love obsession.

“Oh it’s been so slow for the past three days. It’s like she decided to take a vacation or something.” Alya shrugged. That’s right, with Marinette unable to function, LadyBug can’t be there.

“Yeah, I heard something about that. After her most recent fight with Smut, she’s been doing small time things, like cats in trees.” She smiled, trying to make an excuse.

“I guess a hero’s work is never done.” Alya sighed. “But that’s a reasonable change of pace. So yeah, a vacation.” She smiled.

“I hear Chat Noir has been doing all the major stuff lately.” Interjected Adrien. “I mean, with Chloe out of town for her yearly kimono fitting, no one’s been around to be akumatized. So he’s been doing the normal "cop" work.”

“Makes sense. Though I can’t see how a cat can stop a cat burglar.” Marinette joked. She was oddly calm, being unable to see Adrien, and smiled at the fact that she could get her words out.

“Yeah, the amount of puns would be insane.” Adrien joked, and they all laughed.

“So, listen, we gotta get back to class. But I’ll visit you after school.” Alya suggested after looking at her phone.

“Wait, it’s time to go? I didn’t even get to give her the card!” Adrien reacher into his bag, pulling out a rather large card.

“Isn’t a card kind of pointless, since I can’t see?” Marinette joked, as she accepted it and opened it.

“Just feel it. Trust us.” Alya grabbed her bag, ready to leave.

“I’ll see you later, Marinette.” He ruffled her hair, before leaving.

“Later guys!” She called, as they bounded down the stairs. Feeling the card she noticed raised areas and a few bumps. Following the patterns, she realized they were letters. Trying hardest to follow she made out a few words and names.

 

GET BETTER SOON!

From, Alya and

Adrien and Nino and

Kim and Juleka

CHLOE and Sabrina

Mylene and Ivan and Rose

And Max and Nathanael

WE MISS YOU!!

 

The card brought tears to her eyes, and she placed it down. Tikki flew out of her jacket.

“Are you okay Marinette?” Do you need anything?”

“I’m fine Tikki. I just need sleep. I need to get better. Can you tell me what happened when I wake up.” She smiled at her Kwami who hugged her face gently.

“Alright get some rest. I’ll speak to you in the morning.” The Kwami smiled, as she stretched out on the chaise, and went to sleep.


	2. Waking Up

Alya did in fact come by that night, only to see a sleeping Marinette. Sabine explained that Marinette was still healing and would need her rest. Adrien came by that night too, for the same results. Marinette wasn’t sleeping though. She was wide awake, and in her bed now, pacing very carefully. She wanted to go out on patrol so badly, but she could barely keep track of where her feet were. She craved action and adventure, and for some reason she couldn’t explain, she felt like she needed to talk to Chat. She flopped on her bed groaning, before hearing Tikki wake up.

“Marinette, you’re in bed! You made it up the stairs!” The Kwami floated up and sat atop her pillow.

“Maman helped me up. I also ate dinner. There’s cookies on my desk if you’re hungry.” She smiled gently at her Kwami, who stayed in her place.

“I know you’re thinking of going on patrol, but I think it’s a horrible idea. You’re not better yet. Paris will be safe without you.” Tikki fluttered down to sit on Marinette’s hand.

“I know Tikki, I just feel like Chat might be worried. You said we were fighting an Akuma when I got hurt. Well the past few days, he hasn’t seen me, and I want him to know I’m okay.” She reasoned, more with herself than with her Kwami.

“If you’re so worried, then transform and call him!” She suggested.

“That’s a great idea. I won’t get hurt and I can talk to him, and tell him I’m okay! Okay, Tikki, spots on!” She smiled, quickly transforming into LadyBug. She opened her yo-yo, quickly calling Chat. He picked up almost immediately, and she stood in the corner of her room.

“My Lady! You’re safe! I’ve been so worried about you!” He was grinning from ear to ear.

“I’m sorry I worried you, I was just injured. I should be patrolling again by the end of the week. Hopefully, we can catch up then?” She smiled, and he laughed.

“We can catch up whenever you’re ready. Just give me a call and I’ll be there. You get better now, I have to drop in on a friend.” He seemed to be in a rush, as he spoke.

“Alright. Goodnight Chat.” She hung up after he said goodbye, transforming back to normal. Tikki smiled.

“Now that that’s done, get some rest. You need to get your strength back.” The Kwami spoke while making her way down to Marinette’s desk for a cookie.

“Alright Tikki. Will do.” She yawned, stretched, and laid down. She was at peace with everything going on, until Chat came to her mind. Chat was yelling about something, but she couldn’t quite recall what it was. “Tikki, tomorrow, will you tell me what happened with Smut?” The kwami was silent. “Tikki?”

“Sorry, Marinette, my mouth was full. I’d love to. But get some sleep first.” The Kwami lied. If Marinette could see her, she could see Tikki’s unease. Something had happened, and the Kwami was not completely ready to spill the beans.

A couple more minutes went by in silence, before Marinette heard a tap at the skylight above her bed. She sat up, before hearing her window open, and someone land inside.

“Good evening, Princess.” She heard the familiar voice of Chat Noir, and groaned. She _just_ got off the phone with him, why is he here. Why would he visit her of all people. Tikki had hidden amongst the things on Marinette’s desk, as he climbed the stairs to her bed. “I hear you’re not well, and I’ve come to cheer you up.”

Great, just as she decided to rest, he shows up. He looked different tonight. More disheveled than usual and less on purpose. He was tired. Had his worry for LadyBug kept him up the past few nights. But none of that really mattered, the only one who noticed was Tikki. As he climbed her steps, the kwami noticed the somberness of his eyes. He was drained, physically and possibly emotionally.

“I’m fine. Just a little hurt.” She acted as if her temporary blindness was nothing major, but the way the sound of his feet changed when she said that, she knew that he was more than aware that she wasn’t fine. He sat on her bed, his feet resting on her stairs.

“You and I both know that’s not entirely true, Princess. I hear you got a concussion. And an awful lot of pen ink in your eye. So tell me, how did that happen?” He faced her, and she felt him shift on her bed.

“I’m... I’m not exactly sure. All I remember was waking up in the hospital, and seeing my parents crying. I wish I could know. I wish I could remember…” She trailed off, stuck in her thoughts.

“Well, how about I try to help you figure out what happened?” He offered, and she nodded.

“Okay. Lemme retrace my day. I woke up, went to school, came home, and then…” She trailed off again, not wanting to mention her transformation into LadyBug to make it to Alya’s house in time. “I went to go see Alya. But something happened outside with an Akuma. And I can’t remember after that.” She sighed, and his face was a mixture of bright red and completely pale. That Akuma was a nightmare to deal with, and if Marinette had gotten caught up in that, he would never forgive himself. It was bad enough that it was all his fault that LadyBug had gotten injured that day, but Marinette too? Memories of the day flooded back to him, as the two of them got lost in their thoughts.

* * *

 

Three days ago, LadyBug and Chat Noir were fighting Smut (the Fanfic) Writer. She was a nearly translucent villain, who dodged nearly every attack by screaming “Plot Hole!” and changing the positions of everyone around her. It was clear from early on where her akuma was, it was the keyboard that she had attached to her forearm. Her idea of a fun time was the manipulation of characters, shallow empty copies with frozen faces and twisted actions. LadyBug had had enough of Smut within the first five minutes, seeing copies of herself surrounding the real Chat Noir, all trying to get in his pants. Not gonna happen. Not today. They tore through the army of paper copies, desperately trying to reach the top of the paper throne, but constantly being taken down by the ships with “Cannons” which fired high speed balloons filled with heated pen ink. It was a daunting task, but Chat knew they could handle her, after all, she got distracted very easily.

Chat Noir and Lady Bug were just within reach of her, when she screeched “Plot Hole” sending Chat over 5 blocks from the fight, surrounded by even more twisted renditions of people and characters. His face was bright red, as he slashed through the filthy pieces of paper. He couldn’t stand to see so many of the people he knew in such lewd ways. But he kept on, not losing his composure until her saw her. Marinette. The most pure and awkward of all girls he’s ever known was getting plowed from behind by no other than Nino. He figured Smut must’ve gone to their school, and by that logic, Chloe found their fanfictions and belittled them somehow because of it. Maybe another class. Oh, that’s not what’s important right now though. What’s important is slashing this distasteful copy. He got closer noticing Marinette’s face. Ahegao. No, that’s way worse, this is awful, and disgusting and needs to go right now. He thoroughly slashed the paper to bits, taking out his fury and unease on it, before noticing he’s way off target. It’s not the copy’s fault. It’s Smut’s. He leapt across the roofs to Lady Bug’s side, frustrated when he saw Smut but not her. Scanning the area, he noticed a sinking cruise ship, with her on it. One of his copies held her there, and nothing but cannon balls fired at it, dissolving the paper. Their ship was sinking and fast, how ironic. He lept across, trying to slash his copy, hitting the baton it had produced.

“Chat, I’m gonna take out Smut. You handle yourself.” She shouted, jumping to the safety of a building, and summoning her Lucky Charm. It was a simple paper and pencil, and she quickly understood her task. Fanart. The perfect thing to soothe the raging fangirl. She swung over to the throne, and just as Smut went to yell “Plot Hole” she saw the picture. It was her, drawn with a bunch of different characters she had made copies of. Smut kept close guard of her keyboard, as she squealed in delight.

“Oh. My. God. It’s bootyful. Swiggity swag this is so fab.” Smut kept typing.

“Yeah. Your affairs with these characters are canon now.” LadyBug spoke trying to reason with the crazed writer.

“It’s canon!” Smut screeched, and the actual cannon fired. Right in Ladybug’s face. It exploded, engulfing her face in ink. She screamed as she smashed the keyboard, her eyes burning. Chat jumped to help her, not getting there quite in time, as she de-evilized the akuma, and lost her balance. Snatching the art away, she fell off the three story throne, tossing her miraculous in the air and hitting the ground just as the words, “Miraculously LadyBug!” escaped her mouth. She would survive, but the damage had remained. She laid there, as Smut regained her form, a young girl named Kathleen, who was suspended for writing a hardcore smut fic during school hours. Chloe caught her, and promptly told the teacher. Oh Chloe, the world is better without your input.

Unfortunately, the fall had made her unconscious. Chat quickly ran to her. The rest was a blur even for him. He watched her wake up, sitting up in a confused state.

“My lady, are you alright?”.

“Chat, what are you doing in my room?” She rubbed her eyes.

“Your room? Oh god, did you hit your head?”

“I’m fine. I just can’t see you too well.”

“Blurry vision? You might have a concussion, you need to get home right now.”

“No, no, that’s not it. I just need to get someplace with light.” She smiled.

“My lady, what do you mean?” He picked her up and she pushed herself out of his arms, standing up.

“I mean, it’s dark right now. Just cause you have cat vision, doesn’t mean we all have cat vision. What time is it anyway?”

The unease in his voice was clear. “Bugaboo, it’s only 12.”

“12 AM? Oh, no wonder!”

“No… PM. It’s the afternoon. A clear sunny day. Not a cloud in sight.”

Marinette stepped back. “You’re joking right. You’re. You’re kidding.” She wobbled, and fell down.

“My lady, can you see me?” He extended an arm to help her up, and tears formed in the corner of her eyes.

“No. I can’t see anything.”

Beeping was heard, both from her and from him.

“Mon dieu, we need to get you to a hospital!” He quickly grabbed her hand, to help her stand up, and she pushed it away.

“No. No hospitals. Not until I’m transformed back. I need to get to someone who’d help. I need-” She was cut off by her beeping again. She grew quiet. “Where are we right now?”

“I’m not exactly sure. But there’s a bakery about a block away.”

_Bakery? Could it be her parents?_

“Is it the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie?” She shifted uneasily.

“Yeah! That’s the one!”

“Oh great! I’m uh… great friends with their daughter. Leave me on the roof, I’m always hanging out there, they’ll expect me to come out of their daughter’s room!” That lie was a stretch, but with the quickness she was lifted off the ground she assumed he bought it. In an instant she was on the roof, and he opened the skylight, helping her inside.

“Are you sure you’ll be fine?”

“Yeah! I’ll be fine. I just hope Mari isn’t coming up to her room right now.” She laughed, stretching.

“You really know Marinette?” He smiled.

“Yeah, she’s such a close friend.”

“Well… tell her I say hi. And also, a friend of her’s named Adrien wants her to call him.” He grinned. “I think they’re supposed to do a project together, so make sure she remembers!”

“Will do! See you around Chat!” She smiled as she heard the skylight shut. She quickly transformed, falling to the ground as Chat fled the roof, only knowing that her being in a friends home would keep her safe.

* * *

 

Chat snapped out of his thoughts, to Marinette calling him.

“Earth to Chat Noir. It’s getting late, I need to get some rest.” She smiled at him, and he felt better about Marinette’s injury.

“Yeah. Sorry I was just thinking.” He got ready to go back downstairs.

“About what?” She reached outward, her hand grazing his outer thigh.

“Lady Bug. Last time I saw her, I wasn’t paying attention and she got hurt pretty badly. She called me, and she’s okay, but I’m worried.” He trailed off.

“Do you want to tell me about it? It might help you feel better.” She found his hand, pulling him to sit down, and he sighed.

“I’ll tell you. But you need to go to sleep afterwards. You need your rest if you’re ever going to look into my dreamy eyes again, Princess.” He smirked, and she could practically hear it.

“If sleeping is gonna make me see you again, I’m going to live off of nothing but RedBull and coffee.” She deadpanned, and he cracked up. “Now. Tell me what happened.” She squeezed his hand and he sighed. This is how she would know. This is how she would understand what happened.

* * *

 

With the end of his story, everything made sense. Everything except a very angry Tikki. Everything except for the fact that her injuries didn’t disappear with the magic healing of the Miraculous LadyBug. How badly was she hurt that it didn’t work. She realized she was silent for a bit too long.

“It all makes sense now.” She muttered, saying the absolute worst thing to break the silence.

“What does?” His words were slightly sharp, and she sighed.

“Why she went on vacation. Vacation is great when you’re trying to get your strength up.” She explained and he nodded.

“Yeah. I just can’t wait for her to come back. Though you may be a beautiful Princess, my heart belongs to My Lady.” She snorted and he gasped. “How dare you mock me expressing how much I love her.” He joked, before ruffling Marinette’s hair and covering her with her blanket.

“Now get some rest, or you’ll never be able to see that model boy Adrien again.” He laughed and you flushed.

“And now you mock my appreciation of an attractive friend? Hmpf, I don’t think you deserve to express your love if I can’t quietly have mine.”

Chat’s face flushed. “So you love him?” He whispered.

“Well. I guess. Like a friend. Or maybe more. But that’s not the point right now! Get out I need to sleep! I have a doctors appointment in the morning.” She pushed him and bit and he laughed.

“Alright. Sleep well, my princess. I’ll be leaving through the roof.” He smiled, climbing out the skylight, and disappeared in the night. She sighed, rolling over and going to sleep.

* * *

 

For the rest of the week, Marinette’s time was consumed by sleeping, transforming into LadyBug to talk to Chat, seeing her friends, and going to the doctor. Not a care in the world. That is until the night before school. Her eyesight had in fact returned, and now she had to deal with all of them again. She sighed, and groaned, as Tikki came to her bed.

“Marinette, I have something to confess.” The kwami looked uneasy, and Marinette, extended her hands so the Kwami could sit.

“What’s wrong, Tikki?” Marinette carefully pet the Kwami, as tears pricked at the edges of the her eyes.

“Marinette, I never told you the truth. The truth about what happened that day. And it’s because I couldn’t completely remember. I still can’t, but it’s not Smuts fault you went blind. It’s Chats. Chat made you go blind.” She began to whisper at the end, but Marinette shouted.

“What?! How is it his fault? What happened?” She dropped the Kwami for a minute, quickly scooping her back up.

“I can’t completely call it to mind, and I’m sure Chat can’t either. But, I think Smut took him under her control, and wrote her own story. I think he fought you. I think he is the one that blinded you. I don’t doubt that what he said was true, but he’s missing gaps. The whole thing was a huge blur to me, but I remember him pouncing on you. He fought you. He hurt you. And in the back of his mind, he still can’t forgive himself. Try to understand that when you go out tonight.”

Marinette was speechless for the most part, and after a few minutes of processing, she nodded. “Okay, Tikki, Spots on!”

She left her room, swinging away to the roof they would usually meet up to patrol. When she got there, she saw him sitting down, leant back, staring at the sky. He muttered to himself, and it was nearly impossible for her to hear.

“Hey Chat, how are you?” She smiled and he quickly stood up.

“My Lady, you’re alright!” He hugged her tightly, and she gently patted him on the back. “I thought it would be longer before I saw you again, I’ve been so worried.”

“I told you I was fine. I’ve just been laying low. Staying at home. I was sleeping most of the time.” She laughed a bit.

“Well I’m glad you’re okay. Oh, I missed you so much. I can’t wait to-” Chat’s words were cut short by screaming in the distance. An Akuma attack. Great, her first night back on the job, and there’s already strife. The akuma wasn’t much to fight, but they had both used their specials, and only had a brief moment to speak before they had to jet.

“My Lady, I need to know, where were you hurt that you were gone for so long. I know your eyes were messed up, but where else?” Chat stood at their rendezvous point, about to leave, when the question came to mind.

“I had a gash on my head, and another on the back of my neck. I’d show you, but it’s still bandaged. Maybe tomorrow.” She suggested, and he grimaced.  He felt like it was his fault she was so badly hurt. Their Miraculoui beeped, and they absconded accordingly, Marinette going home and straight to bed. She needed to get enough sleep to be on time tomorrow. After all, being late on a first day back was something she didn’t want to do.  


	3. Time to Stretch

Marinette woke up the next day, and got out of bed. She got ready, trying to cover the back of her neck as best as she could, before eating breakfast. Her mother and father weren’t upstairs, probably in the Bakery filling a large order. She checked the time, rushing out the house, and heading to school. Nearly falling twice, she made it just before class started, sighing in relief at how on time she was.

“Welcome back Marinette, I understand you were injured.” Ms. Bustier made it clear that her return was appreciated by all. Well, most.

“I don’t understand why she gets a welcome back and I don’t. I was gone for the same amount of time, with the same urgency, and I didn’t get a stupid welcome back.” Chloe was quick to remark, and Adrien sighed.

“Chloe, she was in the hospital. It’s more of a congratulations on feeling better, than a we missed you.” Adrien explained, but it didn’t fix the situation. She stayed firm on her position, and nothing could change that.

“Ms. Bourgeois, if you ever develop a condition that requires hospitalization, we will welcome you back if you return.” Ms. Bustier stated as nicely as possible as she took attendance.

“What do you mean if? Are you trying to suggest that I’ll die?” Chloe snapped.

“Chloe, the big deal about this is Marinette could’ve died. She had a concussion. If you wanted a welcome back, you would have to almost had died too.” Adrien clarified.

“But I did almost die! Planes are dangerous and I took two! And I nearly died when I realized my waist size was up three inches! And I ate sushi! You can almost die from that too! Why does it matter if she almost died!” Chloe had her tantrum, while Marinette ignored her, rubbing the slight scab on the back of her neck. Only Alya knew about it. It hurt when her hair got caught in it, and was more of a menace than anything. A reminder that she had gotten hurt.

“Marinette, could you come to the front of the class. You too Nathaneal. And Mylene. Oh, And You Chloe. And Adrien too. Alright, stand in a straight line and face the class.” Ms. Bustier explained. “Now, take off your jacket-like items, and hold them in front of you. If the rest of the class can see, the inside of their jackets are different than the outside. It’s much like that with people and that can be seen in Albert Camus’ “The Stranger”. His existentialism made it nearly impossible for him to express his innermost feelings, due to how it didn’t matter how he feels. Nothing mattered. Okay, leave your jackets so I can do the next demonstration, and take your seats.” She explained. It was a very hands on class today. Maybe it was to Marinette could ease in better. Marinette walked to her seat quickly, feeling mildly uncomfortable without her jacket. Adrien walked behind her, and saw the scab on her neck.

_How in the hell did she get that? What could’ve gashed her neck like- Oh no. Oh god no. That can’t be. It was her._

Adrien’s mind was racing, in shock and frustration. Marinette had a gash on her neck, just like LadyBug said she had. Marinette went blind from pen ink, just like LadyBug had. Marinette wore her hair in pigtails, had those beautiful blue eyes, and was such an innocent cinnamon roll. Just like LadyBug. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was LadyBug, and it was his fault she had gotten hurt. His best friend, his loyal companion, the only person he trusted with his life, was Marinette, and he hadn’t been able to keep her safe. Adrien reached out to her, his face pale, his palms sweaty.

“Marinette, I-” just as the words escaped his mouth, he lost his breakfast all over her desk, and fainted.

* * *

 

Marinette helped him to the nurse's office, and to the car. Marinette begged to ride with him, and care for him at his home. She was only permitted to ride with him, and keep him propped up. His face was pained in his unconsciousness, and all she could too was gently stroke his hair. He would always relax at her touch, causing Nathalie to raise a brow. What possible relationship could those two have.

After Adrien was safe at home, Nathalie instructed that Marinette be driven back to class. Upon returning, she knew she’d need to feel the wrath of Chloe.

“Oh, Welcome back, Marinette. Had fun with _my_ Adrien. You were oh so eager to help, it makes me wonder if it was your fault he felt sick all of a sudden” Chloe had a falsely warm tone. Marinette ignored her, picking up her jacket from Ms. Bustiers desk, and grabbing her bag. “Oh, where are you going? Are you going to poison someone else? Have fun.” Chloe cooed, as Marinette left.

She walked directly to the science room, getting the day's notes from Ms. Mendeleiev. She then went back upstairs, to tell Mr. Damocles she was going home early due to feeling nauseous after seeing Adrien vomit. He permitted, sending a phone call home, and Marinette practically ran there. She entered the bakery, tears in her eyes, the back of her neck throbbing. Sabine welcomed her daughter into her arms, allowing her to go up to her room and rest. She laid in her bed, replaying today’s events. The love of her life, the man of her dreams, had collapsed face first in his own vomit after saying her name. She shut her eyes, deciding to rest before going on patrols for that night. It was the least she could do.

But her dreams were plagued by Chat. Vivid images of him in white, covered in ink and blood. He called her name, no not the name LadyBug, but Marinette. Desperate to get his words across. He reached out to her. He was so close, so close, and she reached out to him as well. But she was falling. No, she wasn’t falling, she was being pulled. Pulled by him, as he swiped for her earrings, missing and catching her scalp instead. She cried out, more blood running down his hands, and she looked at her own. She wasn’t LadyBug. She looked as her story unfolded, and heard the familiar sound of typing in the distance. Her tale had already been told, it would take a miracle to change it now. She looked into her full hands to see a typewriter. It was clear now, as her vision faded to white.

Marinette sat up, her sheets clinging to her. She had fought with her bedding in her sleep, and she groggily rolled over to check the time. It was 9:23 and time for her to go on patrol, so she went.

She was late when she got there. The thoughts of her dream kept her up, and she was nearly sure that Chat, whoever he was, had one just like hers. The very thought shook her up, but she knew tonight would be much more interesting. When she finally arrived at their rendezvous point, she saw him leaning there, with a nauseated look on his face. So, he did have a dream. She stared at Chat, who under all the sickness, looked like he was sharply aware of his senses. They stood their in silence.

“Well.” She spoke first.” Aren’t you going to ask me where I’ve been?”

“Nope.” He was casual about it, leaning on the gate on the roof.

“Why not?” She raised her voice slightly.

“Because I’m mad at you.” He smiled at her.

“Why are you mad at me?” She approached him.

“Oh I don’t know. Does this sound familiar?” He stopped leaning, before raising the pitch in his voice. “‘Yeah! I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me! I’m fine!’”

“I’m fine. Don’t you see me? I’m perfectly fine. I thought we cleared this up yesterday, why is this coming up now?” She stared at him intensely and he slammed his hand into the gate. It was dangerous to egg him on this way, but she needed to know if he had the same dream she did.

“But you weren’t! You were in the hospital! You had a concussion! You were gone for a whole week” He shouted at her as tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. “And it was my fault. You were hurt and it was my fault. Mari, I-” He caught himself as her name slipped out of his lips, but she had already noticed.

“You know who I am.” She whispered.

“I didn’t hear you, can you repeat-” he tried to recover, but his voice trembled, and he couldn’t play it cool at all.

“You know who I am!” Her face turned red, and she shouted at him. “You betrayed my trust and watched me transform that day, and to think that I was considering really showing you tonight! You, of all people, know who I am! You ASSHOLE!” She slapped him, and he accepted it as she began to cry. “And not once did you visit me in the hospital.” She sobbed, pounding on his chest. He pulled her close into a hug.

“Mari, I. I didn’t betray you. I didn’t look when you told me in the very beginning not to. I would never do such a thing. I just. I noticed when you went back to school. Your neck, I saw it when you helped Adrien, I pieced it together. I was a creep, and I’m just so sorry you got hurt. I didn’t want you to get hurt. I want you to be okay. Better than okay. Safe. And I failed. My Lady, my sweet princess, Marinette, forgive me.” He stroked her hair and she buried her face in his chest. She looked up at him, tears still streaming down her face.

She relaxed at his words. He didn’t have a dream, and she could avoid that awful conversation. “I want you to forgive me. I made you feel so bad about yourself for not protecting me. You’re my hero, Chat. But if you do not stop petting my head I’m going to kick you, you’re yanking my ribbons.” She joked, trying to lighten the mood. It was too intense too quick, and she could feel her head spin as she remembered her dream.

“Sorry.” He pulled his hands away, stepping back from her, and cupping her face gently in his hand. “If I’m going to be one hundred percent honest with you, I need to tell you, I have the hugest boner right now.”

She pushed him away laughing, and retorted with a very mild “So do I.”, causing Chat to laugh so hard he snorted. “Take a seat, watch the sky with me.” Chat offered, and the two of them sat down. She rested her head against his shoulder, her body pressing into his arm, and he blushed bright red.

“Careful there, don’t want you rubbing against my wenis.” He joked, and she lifted his arm up, and leaned forward to lick his leather clad elbow.

“Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let me be.” She wrapped her arms around his arm, hugging it lightly, as she snuggled a bit closer. A few silent moments of blissful eternity passed, before a realization dawned on him.

“Mari. Please don’t fall asleep on me.” He nudged her gently. “Mari, come on, I know it’s one in the morning, but that is no excuse; wake up.” Upon realizing his attempts were in vain, he gently removed his arm from her grasp, and lifted her up, carrying her back to her room. He laid her in her bed, as Tikki took off her transformation, the kwami yawning and waving goodnight to Chat as she flew over to Marinette’s desk for a quick snack. Chat stood there, staring at his sleeping princess. He slipped her shoes off, placing them at the foot of her bed, and pulled the covers over her. He brushed her hair out of her face, gently kissing her forehead, before leaving, quickly heading home noticing the 1:30 time. Upon slipping into his room, and transforming back to normal, he turned on his light, take off his day clothes. After taking off his shoes, and slipping out of his pants, his father opened the door to his room. Of all nights for him to implement parenting, he chose tonight.

“Adrien Agreste, do you have any idea what time it is?” He stood in the doorway, his arms crossed.

“Yes, father. It’s One thirty in the morning.” Adrien looked down at his feet.

“Why were you out this late?” His father began raising his voice.

“I-I was out seeing a good friend of mine. She’s a designer, and works so hard, and I was looking through her book to give her suggestions. We lost track of the time and fell asleep on her roof. As soon as we woke up, I ran home. I’m very sorry, father.”

His father wasn’t convinced, and gave a very stern look before turning around and leaving, slamming the door behind him. Adrien sighed, realizing that the only thing he could do to convince his father and avoid punishment, was to convince Marinette to vouch for him. But how was he going to do it. Scenarios ran through his mind, only two seeming in any way successful. He would either need to convince her like this, like Adrien, or have Chat Noir ask on his behalf. Either way, he knew she would be a little awkward when it came down to being in person.

Adrien flopped into his bed, groaning, hearing Plagg in the distance, eating something. He stared at his alarm clock, noting that it was 1:41. If he was going to get to school on time, he’d need to get to sleep now, and drink as much coffee as possible in the morning to come.

* * *

The next morning, Marinette woke up in her bed panicked. This is not where she fell asleep. Why is she in normal clothes? What’s going on? Her panic quickly subsided, upon realizing what had happened last night. Chat knows who she is. Chat was worried about her. And she fell asleep on him. He must’ve brought her home and tucked her in. She looked at her clothes, realizing that considering she wasn’t in pajamas, he hadn’t done anything. He just tucked her in and left. Not even a silly note to greet her when she woke up. Just an expectation that it was understood, he had done a good deed. She rolled out of bed to get ready for the day, already understanding that she was going to be late. She had her breakfast in silence, replaying last night in her head. He cried with her. He was genuinely worried about her. But who was he? How could she track him down. The worry she had over her muffin, made her realize she was even later than usual. She rushed out of the door to get to school, hopping on the bus to save her a bit of time. She dashed into class, making her apologies and sitting in her seat.

“She was closer to being on time when she was recently blind.” Chloe chided, and Marinette’s face turned bright red.

“Your skin was closer to a normal color when you weren’t such a bitch.” Marinette muttered, and Alya snorted.

“What’s so funny?” Chloe turned around to face them. The whole class had their eyes on Marinette, who quickly regretted her sly comment.

“The line where your foundation ends.” Alya casually stated, taking out her notebook.

“Say what you want, but my skin is flawless.” Chloe spun around, in a matter of fact way, and Marinette snickered.

“Your skin is about as flawless as your roots, which by the way, are showing.” Marinette, muttered, a bit louder this time, making Adrien actually grin ear to ear. He could clearly see the darker blonde at the end of her platinum hair, and had been keeping quiet about it for three days now. Alya high fived Marinette, as Chloe quickly got out her mirror to search her hair for the roots. She raised her hand to leave class, Ms. Bustier shaking her head no, and beginning the lesson. For the rest of class, Chloe was staring daggers into Marinette, who tried her hardest to ignore her, but gave in and felt awful. After class, before Chloe could get close enough to tear her a new one, Adrien got up and stood next to Marinette’s desk.

“Hey, Marinette, I need to talk to you today. About that personal thing…” He trailed off and she nodded understandingly. Whatever it was, it was important. Chloe on the other hand, didn’t care and quickly interrupted.

“Adrikins, come on, let’s go. We can go out for sushi today, instead of you headed home for lunch.” She smiled, and before Adrien could try to wiggle his way out of saying yes, Alya popped up.

“Chloe, can’t you see the obvious connection about to happen? Buzz off.”

Marinette’s face turned bright red, and she turned around gesturing wildly to Alya.

“I don’t see what the problem is. You’re his _best friend_ of course there needs to be a connection.” She emphasized to make it clear that she didn’t mean Marinette was friendzoned, but to calm her down enough. The awkwardness subsided, and Marinette nodded, turning back to Chloe and Adrien.

“Yeah, we’re about to become even closer friends, and I don’t think you want to watch that.” Marinette tried to sound as cool as Alya, but Chloe saw through it.

“As a matter of fact, I do! I would absolutely _love_ to see _my_ Adrikins making a new best friend. I’d love to see that happen. I’d love to see you try.” She snapped, and before Marinette could make a mess of things, Adrien intercepted, beating out Alya.

“Well you can’t. It’s a private thing. Just as private as that time on the yacht. What happened then again? Didn’t you-” Adrien started, before his mouth was clamped shut by Chloe.

“Fine. Have your _private talk._ But, that’s it!” She stared at Adrien and he nodded before she walked off.

“Come Marinette, let’s go talk in the park, so we can leave if we need.” He extended his hand, and Alya pushed her to grab it. She took his hand, getting out of her seat, and walked out of the school holding said hand, right in front of Chloe.

“As if I’m going to let _that_ mess happen right in front of me. Sabrina! Watch them.” Chloe said as she got in her limo. Sabrina nodded, walking towards the park.

* * *

 At the park, Adrien and Marinette sat on a bench under the tree. She stared at him look at his feet for a minute, before mustering up the courage to speak first.

“So what did you want to talk about?” She managed to get out.

“You. I want to talk about you and a favor I need from you.” He still looked at the ground.

“A f-favor? A favor from me? Me for favor from….” She trailed off staring at the ground too.

“Marinette, I’m going to be completely honest with you. Last night I lied to my father, and I need your help to cover my ass.” He looked her in the eyes.

“What do you mean?” She continued looking at the ground, staring at his shoes.

“I told my father, I was with an amazing designer. That I was looking at her work and giving her some tips. Even though you’d never need any tips, I just would love if you’d be that part. Cause I wasn’t really with a designer, I was with my friend, and she fell asleep on my shoulder, and I had to bring her home before I could go home, so I got home late and he’s so mad at he and I’d like you to come over to my house after school to show me your designs.” By the time he finished her eyes were completely wide. He liked her designs. He’s seen enough of her designs to like them. He wanted her to be the amazing designer he lied about being with. He wanted her to go to his house after school.

“Adrien, I’d love to.” She smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll ge bood. I mean. I’ll boo geed. I mean I’ll-” She began to stutter again.

“You’ll be better than good. You’ll be great.” He smiled at her, and hugged her a bit. She smelled like strawberries and cream. Her hair was so soft. He never wanted to let go, but he felt the heat on her fact through his shirt, so he let go and stood up. “I’m gonna grab a bite to eat, you want me to get you anything?”

She was in a daze before snapping out of it. “Oh. No thank you. I’m gonna head home real quick and grab a sandwich.” She smiled, also standing up.

“Well, make sure you get back in time. I want time to talk to you before class.”

“A-about what?” Her face flushed again in panic.

“You’ll see.” He winked before leaving her standing in the park, a flustered mess.

In an instant her phone rang, and she nearly dropped it trying to answer it.

“What was that about? Stay right there, I’m coming into the park. And get that dopey look off your face! I brought you a sandwich.” Alya spoke into the phone as she jogged across the street, coming inside, and standing in front of her friend who was still on the phone after she had hung up. “What happened?”

“He wants to talk to me before class. He wants me to come to his house. He likes my designs.” She whispered, still in disbelief.

“What? I can’t hear you, speak up.” She looked at her friend, who’s dopey look was quickly replaced by a huge grin. Marinette dropped her phone, before jumping and hugging her friend.

“He want’s to talk to me before class! He wanted me to come to his house and he likes my designs!” She shouted in glee, and Alya just hugged her friend back.

“Woah now, calm down. We don’t want Chloe finding out now.” She joked.

“Oh who cares about Chloe!? I get to hang out with Adrien.” She got a dreamy look in her eyes, before realization hit. “Oh god, I’m gonna hang out with Adrien. At his house. Near his dad! I’m going to be with Adrien without you or anyone else, looking at my sketchbook. Oh god my sketch book,” He shouting turned into a whisper. “My sketches of him. My yaoi. oH GOD MY SKETCHES OF HIM. NO HE CAN’T SEE THOSE!”

“Relax girl. Aren’t those in the back of the book. Just take out the yaoi, and don’t let it get to the back.” She laughed.

“Why not take out the sketches of him too?” She pondered, taking her sketchbook out of her bag.

“Cause if his dad see’s them, his dad will piece together you have a crush on him, as well as seeing your designs, and consider you fit to be around him because of your good academic standing, excellent quality as an individual and determination to get what you want, as in his son.” She smiled.

“Then he’ll give us his blessing, and me and Adrien will fall in love, get married and have 5 adorable kids and a hamster, he’ll love me forever, and will never look at Chloe again, who by that time will look like a handbag!” She was just as excited.

“Well. Sure!” She high fived her friend, and they sat in the park, eating their food.

Unfortunately, Sabrina had facetimed Chloe for the entire moment Marinette had with her friend. Chloe wasn’t happy. Chloe was going to crush her. Chloe was going to get that yaoi, and reveal Marinette as a horrible weirdo, or her name wasn’t Chloe Bourgeois.

* * *

Back in class, Marinette saw Adrien standing around, talking to Chloe. She happily walked past them, and sat at her desk, getting out her sketchbook, and mindlessly doodling. Before she realized it, she had drawn Adrien, in a wonderful suit with bowtie. So dreamy.

“Hey Marinette, I heard you like to do more than fashion in your sketchbook. Can I see?” Adrien suddenly snapped her out of her sketching and she slammed the book shut.

“No!” She shouted, before panicking. “I mean. I don’t like people looking through my sketchbook on a moments notice because I draw some things that aren’t always age appropriate and I don’t want people seeing that.” She spat out, and Chloe spun around leaning on Marinette’s desk.

“Oh really? Like what?” She cooed.

“None of your business, Chloe.” She pulled her sketchbook close to her chest, and it was quickly snatched away by Sabrina, who passed it over Marinette’s head to Chloe.

“Oh lookie, lookie. Your sketchbook just magically opened in my hands. It must want me to see.” She grinned, flipping it to the back. The first thing she saw made her blush profusely, and she dropped the book.

“What? What did you see?” Adrien asked, picking up the book to see a detailed drawing of LadyBug in nothing but her mask, her hair loose, and in kinbaku with her yoyo. His face quickly flushed, as much Marinette’s was. He quickly placed her sketchbook down, and smiled sheepishly.

“I like your art style.” He joked.

“You what? It’s porn!” Chloe was about to go on a rant, when Alya came to the table, grabbing the book and looking through it.

“At least it’s not gay porn.” She joked, knowing before they went to class, Alya took it all out of the sketchbook stashing it in her bookbag

“Yeah, that’s a uh… a great point Alya!” Marinette smiled, trying to recover.

“Marinette, can you come into the hall with me for a moment, I need to tell you one more thing.” He placed his hand over Marinette’s and she could practically see her her face light up.

“Oh, uh, s-sure Adrien.” She smiled, and they walked into the hallway hand in hand. Chloe stared out the window to the hallway, trying to figure out what they could be talking about.

“Marinette, one more thing. I need you to try your hardest not to bring up the time I passed out in class. My dad isn’t too happy about it, and thinks it’s in a sense your fault cause your name was the last I said before well-” He was cut out by the most reassuring words he’d ever heard.

“Oh, it’s not a problem. I didn’t really want to talk about it anyway.” She explained. A wave of relief washed over him before he felt absolutely devastated. “It’s a little touchy considering something similar happened to me afterwards.”

Adrien paled. If she had felt it, then she must know. She must know he tried to attack her. She must be piecing together that he is Chat Noir. She must be remembering his moments as Blanc.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm going to be taking a little break from this to write another one before the idea leaves my mind. It won't be updated for at least a week. Thanks for understanding!


	4. Wide Awake

Adrien spent the rest of the school day replaying his own dream in his head. All he could see was him, reaching for Marinette, trying his hardest to swipe her earrings. He could clearly remember giving her a mild cut on her scalp. He could remember the way she cried out, just trying to get him back to normal. And the blood on his white claws. It wasn’t his, was it? No, no, it couldn’t all be hers. He pulled her close to him as they landed onto a roof, and she quickly scrambled away, trying to find her Kwami. But he was fast, and cornered her, as she held dearly onto a bright red typewriter. He snatched it out of her hands, tossing it behind him, and she tried to duck under his arms to run for it. In his attempt to grab her, his claws dug into her neck, and she cried out as a gash appeared. Tears pricked at his eyes, he knew what he was doing. He just couldn’t help himself. She grabbed the typewriter and ran, faster than he could say sorry. It was too much for him to handle, and he blacked out. Oh it was such an awful memory, that by the end of the day he was just so sick to his stomach of what he had done, that he was noticeably pale.

“Alright, and don’t forget to study for tomorrow’s socratic seminar.” Ms. Bustier made the announcement just as school was let out, and Adrien turned around to see Marinette, stuck in the same kind of daze he was in just moments ago.

“Marinette, are you ready?” He asked, as the color slowly returned to his face. Marinette snapped out of her daydream, and frantically shoved her books into her bag.

“Oh, yeah I’m ready I just. I was spacing out thinking about a dream I had, I’m sorry!” She laughed awkwardly, and he ruffled her hair. Her face flushed, and she quickly stood up.

“Well let’s go. Hopefully Nathalie isn’t with the gorilla today.” He joked, taking her hand and walking out of class with her. Internally, Marinette was screaming. He had held her hand so much today. Externally, Marinette was making a high pitched noise barely audible to anyone but her. She looked back at Alya who was giving her a thumbs up, and to the side at Chloe who looked honestly disgusted. Marinette took a deep breath to recompose herself, and smiled at Adrien who quickly smiled back. The light glow of her pale skin, against her blue-black hair, was all he could think about, as he walked her to the car that awaited them. Letting her in first, he sat down to see a clearly unamused Nathalie.

“Hi Nathalie. We’re working on something together, so she’ll be coming home with me today.” He explained, and she simply sighed and nodded, preparing to send a message to his father.

“And what is her name?” Nathalie finally spoke, and before Marinette could open her mouth, Adrien spoke.

“Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She’s the designer I told my father about.” He gently squeezed Marinette’s hand, and her heart skipped a beat. Not only was she going to Adrien’s house, but Adrien was proud to tell his father about her. What had happened that he suddenly wanted to see her, besides of course his excuse. But not even his excuse made sense. He could’ve asked Chloe to cover for him. Or Alya, since she keeps her composure much better. Hell, he could’ve asked anyone, and they would’ve jumped at the opportunity, why her?

Her thoughts were cut short by the car stopping, and the door opening. Adrien stepped out, extending his hand to Marinette who accepted it. She nearly stepped in a puddle when she got out, but he pulled her close to make sure that wouldn’t happen. Her face was bright red, and he just looked to kind in his eyes. He would go the extra mile to make sure his lady, his princess, had a good day, and so far, he supposed she had.

He held her hand as they walked into the mansion, his heart dropping when he saw his father standing on the stairs waiting for him.

“Adrien, who is this?” He gestured to Marinette, who cowered slightly at the stern tone in his voice. Adrien faltered as well, but looked to his left to see her demeanor change, and opted to instead show her it’s okay.

“This is my friend Marinette from school. She’s the designer I told you about. I wanted to bring her over, so I could help her tweak her work a bit more. Not to say that is isn’t amazing as it is. After all, she won the derby hat contest!” He reasoned. If he could convince his father that Marinette was the amazing designer, that he knew she was, Adrien would have dodged a huge bullet and done Marinette a huge favor. Not that he would count it as that anyway. He’d consider it a gift from his alter-ego.

He had gotten a bit lost in his thoughts, and didn’t quite snap out of it until his father was right in front of them. “Ms. Dupain-Cheng, may I please see your sketchbook.” Gabriel extended his hand, and Marinette, took it out of her bookbag, handing it to him. Mr. Agreste skimmed through it, not making a single expression, only lingering on some pages longer than others, before shutting the book. “You have talent. Let’s home we can hone it in.” Was all he said, before turning around and going back up the stairs. It was a relief for Adrien, considering it’s generally all or nothing when inviting a friend over.

“C’mon, I’ll show you my room.” He said, guiding her up the stairs. She looked around, with a facade of awe, especially upon entering his room.

“Oh wow! It’s so cool!” She opened her mouth to pretend she was shocked, but she had seen it all before when they fought Volpina.

“Yeah, I guess it’s pretty great. It get’s kinda boring after a while. Come, sit on the couch with me.” He walked over to the white sofa, and sat down, patting the spot next to him. He turned on the TV, and looked at her. “Can I see your sketchbook?” He extended his hand, and she quickly handed it to him. “Thanks.” He began to flip through it. Marinette on the other hand, sat there rigid, with perfect posture, not wanting to move. It was one thing being here as LadyBug, with all the confidence Marinette had as her, but just being herself felt awful. Marinette looked up at the TV to see a news report on LadyBug. Who was she behind the mask? Marinette grimaced, and Adrien turned to face her.

“Who do _you_ think LadyBug is?” He asked, putting the sketchbook down.

“Oh, well um, I don’t really think about that.” She looked at him, clearly trying to hide something.

“Yeah. I think a better question is, who’s Chat Noir.” He laughed, and she just sighed. Not what she wanted to talk about. Not after the dreams she had.

“Chat Noir is your regular old Casanova, and I could care less about who he is.” She brushed off the question, scooping up her sketchbook, and making a quick doodle.

“Oh, I don’t think he’s that bad.” He reasoned, and Marinette quickly retorted.

“That bad? That bad! He flirts with every possible girl, I mean he’s flirted with me, so he _obviously_ has no standards.” She explained, furiously sketching.

“What? No, it means he has the best standards! I mean, you’re amazing!” Adrien felt hurt at her self-deprecating words. “Don’t down yourself like that. If you were really that awful, I wouldn’t be your friend.” He laughed.

Before Marinette could stop herself, the words fell out of her mouth, “I mean no offense, but you’re friends with Chloe, so you can’t really talk about standards.” She kept her eyes on her sketchbook, her face heating up as she heard him move.

“Marinette, how could you say that? I mean, yeah she’s not perfect, but you of all people shouldn’t be judging who I’m friends with. You don’t know anything about her!” He had turned to face her completely, his fists clenched. How could Marinette, how could LadyBug act like this.

“You don’t know what she’s put me through.” She deadpanned, not once looking up from her book.

“Then tell me. Tell me what’s so bad about her.”

Marinette shut her book and looked at him, his eyes pleading for an explanation. “When I was 9 years old, my hair was down past my waist. It was beautiful, and I wore it loose everyday. One day, I decided to take Chloe’s place in the line up for a school assembly. She collected the gum from everyone in class and put it in my hair. I had to cut it all off that day, and had the most boyish hair for the rest of the school year.”

“Oh that’s awful.” He reached his hand out to her.

“When we were 11, she decided she wanted to do her science project on the effect of a catalyst on a chemical reaction. Mine was already done, and she had to pick a new one. So on the day of the science fair, she swapped my one molarity hydrochloric acid with a three molarity one, and the glass exploded. There was no explanation, since I had gotten all my materials from the science room with Ms. Mendeleiev, and only one molarity is allowed in school environments. School was closed for a week, investigating, and they were convinced I had done it on purpose. When everything came up inconclusive, the only consequence I was given was that I could never do a chemical reaction project again.”

“She isn’t that bad though.”

“She’s done everything she could to punish me when she couldn’t get her way, and to think that she has the _audacity_ to idolize LadyBug, someone who stands for equality.” She balled up her fists, quickly relaxing as a tear fell from her eyes. “And to top it all off, everyone likes her more than me. I’m not the one that tears apart friendships. I’m not the one that crushes dreams. I’m not the one that thinks she’s perfect, and better than everyone else.”

“Marinette,” He wiped the tear from her face, and she looked up at him. “I need you to understand something. I’m only friends with her because she was there for me when no one else was. But I’m friends with you, because you’re amazing. And it’s how humble you are that makes me want to be your friend. You’re better than Chloe, you have respect for those around you, and so much more.” He stared into her eyes, and pulled her into a hug. Her face turned red, as another tear ran down her face. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were secretly LadyBug.”

“Adrien, thank you.” She muttered, and he pulled away.

“Anything for you, princess.” He grinned, and her eyes widened. Princess? No one calls her that, except… him.

“Chat?” She whispered, and he pretended he didn’t hear.

“What did you say?” He stared into her eyes.

“I-I said, facts. I might’ve been spending too much time with Alya.” She joked, and he smiled, their faces only a few inches apart.

“Then spend more time with me.” He laughed, and gently kissed her forehead. Her face turned bright red and she nodded.

“Oh. I-I’d like that a lot. I’d like to you. I mean to spend time you. I mean, I’d love to spend more time with you.” She smiled at him, and Adrien handed her her sketchbook.

“It’s getting a little dark out, I’ll bring you home.” He stood up, and she placed her book in her bag.

“Oh, no need.” She wanted a bit of time to herself, mostly to talk to Tikki before she got home.

“Alright. Well, before you go…” His face was lightly dusted with pink, as he extended his hand to her. She took it, standing right in front of him, and the pink turned to red as he gently kissed her. Her lips parted in shock, and he let his tongue slip in. Marinette’s eyes were wide, and they quickly fluttered shut. Adrien Agreste was kissing her. Adrien Agreste has his tongue in her mouth. She was alone in his room, and being kissed by none other than _the Adrien Agreste_. Though the kiss lasted only a minute, it felt like an eternity. When he broke it and stared into her eyes, she began to panic.

“I need to go.” She managed to get out, after only making the high pitched noise for 30 seconds, and she quickly left the room, leaving her bag behind. On the way out she ran into Mr. Agreste.

“Is something the matter, Ms. Dupain-Cheng?” He seemed so sure of something being wrong, almost as if he had somehow seen everything that had happened.

“No, my mother just wants me to come home immediately. I think the bakery has a big order they need help with.” She explained. “Have a good night, Mr. Agreste.” She waved, running out of the mansion. She got home quickly, running the whole way, and immediately going to her room.

Adrien on the other hand, was extremely disappointed with himself. He had kissed her, without her permission, and now she must think he’s just like Chat. Just another Casanova. His father entered the room, and Adrien was seated on the couch, frustrated.

“Adrien, your friend ran out of here in quite a hurry. Did something happen?”

God, he alway knew exactly what to say to make the situation worse.

“No father. She just needed to be home.” He explained, looking to the side. “She was in such a rush that she left her bag. I’ll bring it to her in the morning.” He sighed, and his father got closer.

“Adrien, do you see anything in that girl?” He asked. It was clear that Gabriel knew what had happened.

“She’s a good friend of mine. What I see in her doesn’t matter. We’re only friends, there’s no way she would be interested in me anyway, and that knowledge gives me no reason to see anything more in her than a friend.” He explained, and looked away, averting eye contact.

“Adrien, as your father, I’m going to inform you that a relationship at this point of your life would be detrimental to your growth as a person. Focus on something else. Like school.” He made his point and swiftly left, shutting the door behind him. Adrien groaned, and picked up Marinette’s bag, walking into his bathroom. He locked the door, turning on the shower, and transforming before jumping out of the window, her bag in hand.

* * *

 

When he got to her roof, he looked through the skylight trapdoor, to see her laying in her bed on the phone.

“Yes  Alya, he kissed me.” She said, grinning ear to ear.

“And? What did you do? Did you kiss him back?” Alya seemed all too excited, and Marinette’s face fell.

“No. I froze up, and ran away. I feel so stupid. He kissed me, that must mean he likes me right? Either that or he’s just some dumb model trying to get into everyone's pants.” She trailed off.

“But?”

“But he isn’t! He’s not like that with anyone else! So what makes me different? Why would he kiss me? Why would he care, or even try with me?” Marinette teared up. “I messed up. Either I’m completely right, and he just wants into every innocent girls pants, or I’m completely right and he might actually like me. Either way, I just can’t handle this Alya!” The first tear ran down her face, and Alya quickly tried to calm her down. Moments passed with Marinette calming down, and Alya frantically trying to fix the emotional mess that was her friend.

“Mari, listen I gotta go. My mom needs my help with something. I’ll call you later.” Alya explained. Marinette nodded, and hung up before groaning into her pillow. She was so frustrated with herself. The love of her life had kissed her, and she acted as if she felt nothing.

Chat tapped on Marinette’s skylight, and she looked up to see him grinning at her. She nodded at him, and he let himself in.

“Good Evening, Princess. And how are you doing tonight.” He smiled at her, sitting next to her in her bed.

“Not too great, Chat.” She looked down at her phone, then back at him.

“Well, what seems to be the problem my lady?” He got a bit closer to her, stared at her.

“I’m just. I’m so awkward when I’m not Ladybug. And I’m madly in love with this boy, he has my heart since the first time we really talked, but I just can’t talk to him. I get the words all wrong, and make a fool of myself.” She explained.

“Oh? Well have you tried texting him?” He looked at her phone, and she light up the screen to show a picture of him, of Adrien.

“No. I just can’t.” She explained, unlocking her phone, and changing the lock screen to a picture of some anime character with a huge sword.

“Oh.” His heart fell a little bit, realizing that Marinette might only like him as Chat, not as Adrien. “Well if it makes you feel any better, I’m in love too. She’s this beautiful girl, with amazing porcelain skin, and these wonderful eyes that I can gaze into for days, so big and bright. And I don’t think she likes me back.”

“Why do you think that?” She pet him gently, and he moved to resting his head in her lap, with her still petting him.

“Well, she think’s I’m just some PlayBoy after every girl I see.” He sighed and Marinette laughed.

“Well aren’t you?” She took out her phone, checking her texts.

“No! I’m not! If I flirt it’s because I feel a genuine and deep attraction! I only feel that way about maybe two girls. You and my crush. And I asked her, and she feels like I’m only chasing her to get in her pants. But I’m not. I really do love her. She stole my heart with those long slender legs, and her slim waist, and her smile! Oh and the way she laughs, it sounds like a goddess opened her mouth to permit me to hear such a perfect sound. Fuck, Marinette, I love her so much and she doesn’t even know!” He stared at her, her eyes wide.

“Then tell her! She needs to know! If you really love her, tell her!” She grinned, obviously excited. “Honestly, tell her the exact way you just told me. She’ll love it. Mon Dieu, Chat, why didn’t you tell me I could’ve helped you!”

He sat up, a bit upset. “You can’t help me, and I can’t tell her.” He sighed gently running his nails on her wall.

“Why not? Why can’t you tell her?” She reached a hand out to him.

“Because!” He shouted, obviously scaring her. “Because she loves me already. But not me as Chat, me as me! And I don’t want to tell her because I’m afraid it would be too much for her to handle.” He carved a little cat into her wall.

“Are you sure?” She moved his hand off the wall, and held it close.

“Yes! I’m sure! She can barely handle me holding her hand, more or less anything else…” He trailed off not wanting to mention kissing, In fear it would give him away.

“Well, you can try anyway! I told you, I’ll help you. Just, call her or something.” She suggested, and he flopped back defeated. “Chat? Are you alright? Just call her.” She crawled to him, leaning practically hovering just a few inches from his face. He couldn’t help himself, and he pulled her down, their lips pressing together and he kissed her. He kissed her with all the passion he had earlier. She blushed, his soft lips against her. When they broke the kiss she stared at him.

“Chat…” She smiled at him, and brushed his hair out of his face gently.

“No. No, this is wrong” He frowned, sitting up.

“Yeah, it is. I’m not the one you should be kissing.” She sat back.

“No! That’s not what’s wrong. I know who you are but you don’t know who I am! Marinette… Look.” He sighed, and muttered to himself. His transformation dissolved, and in front of Marinette sat a very red Adrien Agreste.

“A-Adrien. You’re Chat Noir?” She could barely get the words out of her mouth, they were barely a whisper.

“Yes, Mari. My sweet Princess, I love you with all my heart. I just didn’t know how to tell you…” He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Adrien. You’re Chat Noir. I’m in love with Chat Noir.” She threw herself at him, and he fell backwards. He sat up a bit, and she sat on him.

“Yes. And you’re Ladybug, and I’m in love with you.” He laughed.

“You love me? Oh my god, you love me.” She laughed, resting herself against him. He blushed, feeling the warmth between her legs against him.

“Yes. Marinette, I love you. I’m in love with you. Also I brought your bookbag, it’s on the roof right now…” He trailed off, not wanting to ruin the mood.

“Is it okay if I leave now, this is getting pretty gross.” Plagg interrupted.

“Yeah, go play with her Kwami or something.” Adrien shooed him away, happy to be left alone.

“Adrien, actually, I was about to say, it’s getting late. You should head home.” She smiled sheepishly.

“ _Ooooh no._ You are not getting rid of me tonight. You are going to go to sleep, and I’m going to snuggle you!” He laughed, and tackled her.

“But, Adrien, you can’t stay here! What if my mom comes upstairs, I don’t think she’ll like seeing a sleeping model in my bed.” She reasoned.

“Oh, don’t worry, I come here every night, they never come up past 10. And would you look at the time! It’s past 10.” He grinned, nuzzling her.

“Okay… but I swear to god if you fart in my bed I’m going to punch you.” She grumbled and he laughed pulling the covers over them, and snuggling her. They fell asleep quickly, feeling so much better about everything, but with the good came bad, and they were plagued with nightmares of what they had done.

* * *

 

It didn’t start with them falling and fighting. No it was far from that. When smut striked, she took control of the city, starting with the names she knew. If she typed it, it happened, but unlike Volpina they weren't simple illusions. What she wrote became, in essence, canon. So when Chat Noir showed up, she quickly wrote his fate.

“Yes! I know what I’ll do with you.” Smut shouted, and typed up her story

_Chat looked around to see the love of his life dead, and succumed to the darkness of his hart, quickly becoming an Akumatized person. His previously black suit turned 2 white and his green eyes turned purple. Chat Noir was not Chat Blanc. *now. Now chat Blank._

All Chat could think was that Ladybug was dead, and the spotted hero before him was just a tease. He needed the earrings to bring her back to life. He needed the miraculous. Chat lunged for her, growling when she dodged.

“Chat! Snap out of it! I’m not dead!” She shouted, dodging the white chat’s attacks.

“Liar! You’re just a copy! You’re a copy wearing her earrings, and I need them! I need them to bring her back!” Tears ran down his face, as he furiously slashed at her. Dodging each advance by only a few hairs, she fled to another building, summoning her lucky charm. A typewriter. She nodded, and began her combatting story.

**But Chat knew in the back of his mind that Ladybug wasn’t dead. With each spare moment, he fought against himself.**

_Smut knew he would fight, so she hit him with a cannonball, to knock his senses back into him. Chat Blanc must fite her. He must._

**Chat fell to the ground after being hit. He quickly recovered leaping off the building to find the imposter, but she was nowhere to be found.**

Marinette was suddenly hidden behind an air vent, and she typed in peace.

**Chat fought against his instinct, and turned his attention to Smut, the one causing him pain.**

_But Chat could see nothing but his lost love when he looked to the writer. His frustration at his lack of revenge caused him to dig his claws into his sink, hurting himself because she wasn’t there._

**Ladybug appeared to stop him. He looked at her, with hope in his eyes, revealing his thoughts to her.**

“My Lady, for the love of god, end this already!” He shouted, gashes through his suit revealing the third layer of skin on his torso.

“You’re under her control, tell me how!”

“I can’t, but hurry, you’re about to timeout!” He had to fight off the urge to lunge for her. Her miraculous beeped, and she nodded, typing at the typewriter.

**She suddenly saw a blimp pass by, and swung her yoyo, to fly away on it.**

_Chat Blanc saw thru her plan, and lunged for her as soon as she caught it. He clawed up her legs, to reach her, exposing past her pail skin. He held on to her waist, slowly shedding it. He dug down into her bones were revealed. She kicked him in the face, knocking a tooth off. He bit into her waist, drawing blood. The two were in a lot of pain._

**But Ladybug powered through the pain. It was nothing to her, and neither was typing while holding on to the yo-yo string.**

As if she wasn’t still just a human, it all became very clear to her. With this new found understanding, she pieced together what she had to do. She had to write him free, and toss the typewriter up. It would heal their wounds, as long as neither of them timed out. She stared down at her shredded suit, as it began to help her heal. She would be okay. She would make it. It beeped for it’s fourth time, and she began to think about what she would write. Unfortunately, Smut was a step ahead of her.

_Randomly the blimp exploded, oh nooooes. So they fell down, and Chat Blanc kept trying to attack her. Also Ladybug times out. Whoopsies._

This is where they were last time. Falling slowly, him reaching for her, him clawing at her neck. She thought about what she would write as she ran away, scrambling from him and hiding. What could she write? The blood running down her neck drove her insane, and she then understood what she could say.

**Chat stared down at his hands, seeing the blood. He felt sick, he knew he had done wrong, and he smashed his own Akuma. He smashed his bell, and fell to the ground, turning back to Chat Noir.**

Knowing she had been successful, Marinette tossed her typewriter in the air, as best as she could, fix it. Chat was healed, but Marinette wasn’t. What had happened? Why wasn’t she okay? She couldn’t question it now, having Tikki eat a cookie quickly as she hid. Quickly transforming back, she continued their fight, and the rest happened.

‘Chat didn’t make me go blind thought right?’ That was all Marinette thought in her dream, before feeling the shock. The trauma she had experienced caught up to he, and everything faded to nothing. It wasn’t the ink, or the concussion. It was the mere shock of what had happened.

* * *

 

Marinette woke up, her heart beating out of her chest. She looked to her side, to see a very troubled Adrien, still asleep, curled in fetal position. Her sheets clung to the two of them. It was still dark out, the streetlights just now shutting off.

“Adrien. Adrien wake up.” She shook him gently. “Adrien. Chat. Chat, wake up. Please, wake up.”

Adrien’s eyes shot open, and he sat up, looking around in a panic. “Wha- What’s going on?” He turned to see Marinette at his side, with a concerned look in her eyes. “Oh, thank god, for a second there I thought you were really dead.” He sighed in relief.

“So you had the dream too?” She placed her hand on his, and he nodded, averting eye contact. “Adrien, what happened wasn’t your fault.” He turned away from her, obviously upset. “Adrien, you didn’t know. You thought I was dead. If I thought you were dead, I would’ve done the same thing.” She hugged him, and he sighed.

“But that’s the thing. You’d never fall to something like that. You’re Ladybug, you’re good luck. I’m a stupid black cat, I always get the shitty end of the stick.” He frowned, and looked back at her. “Sometimes, I wish I was as great as you.”

“Chat. Adrien. You are as great as me, because without you, I wouldn’t be able to fight. Back when we first got our Miraculoui, I thought I was so unfit to be a hero, I tried to pass the responsibility onto Alya! If it weren’t for you protecting her, I wouldn’t have done it a second time, and I would’ve never become who I am today. Without you I’d be nothing.” She stared at him, tears pricking at the edges of her eyes.

He cupped her face in his hands, pressing his head against hers. The sun began to gently illuminate the room with a light orange hue, and the light poured through onto her bed. He pulled away to stare at her, smiling at the way the sun caught her hair. Her blue black strands sticking out from her pigtails, some plastered to her forehead from her sweat. His eyes trailed down to her earrings, leading him to look at his own ring.

“Marinette. I want to tell my dad.” He spoke after a few minutes of silence. She had taken out her pigtails and now raked through her hair with her fingers, stopping abruptly at his words.

“Tell your dad what exactly?” She put her hair into one bun, hanging low almost threatening to fall apart.

“That I’m Chat Noir. That I fight crime and that I’m seeking his approval. Maybe if he knows, he’ll be proud of me.” He explained and she was taken aback.

“Is that why you like being Chat? Because everyone is always proud of you?” She reached her hand out to his knee, but he moved away, oblivious.

“No, it’s more than that. He’s just so controlling! When I’m Chat, I’m finally free for him to do what I want. I can be a train wreck, or a suave ladies man. I can be my own person, and just I love that.” He sighed, picking up her pillow and holding it to his chest. “Chat Noir is supposed to destroy, right? Well that’s what I want to do. I want to destroy everything my father has built that is supposed to be me.”

“Adrien,” She leaned forward and took the pillow away from him, replacing it with herself. “I think he’ll understand. Just tell him. I’ll be here if anything goes wrong.” Her words melted him, and a tear streamed down his face.

“Marinette, I love you so much.” He spoke, his voice trembling as he stared at the rising sun out the window on the other side of the room.

“I love you too. But you need to get going, before your dad see’s you’re missing and flips out.” She explained, pecking him on the cheek. He stood up, climbing out her skylight. The last thing she saw before falling back asleep was his kwami lazily flying out of the room.

* * *

 

When Adrien got back home, he detransformed before flopping into his bed. He had to tell his dad who he really was, but how? When? What would he say? The questions raced through his mind before his normal alarm went off. It was six forty-five, and time for him to take a shower.

“As soon as we’re home, and you don’t even have the chance to sleep. Wow, that sucks for you. Lucky me I can sleep whenever.” Plagg mocked him, but he didn’t bother to pay attention. He stepped into his bathroom, sighing at the shower. He had left it on all night, not even turning it off when he got home. He looked to the side at the bathtub, not quite remembering the last time he had actually sat in the tub. He resolved that he would take a bath, not a shower but a bath, some time this week. After getting undressed, his clothes in a heap on the floor, he stepped into the shower. He heard the bathroom door open, and quickly close. Was it Plagg? That wasn’t his concern as he rinsed his body thinking about his nightmarish actions. He had hurt the love of his life, and she just smiled saying it wasn’t a big deal. How much did he love him to say that, without a second thought; without a moment to reconsider? He thought about what she had said, and what he had told her. She said his father would accept what he had to say, and he rinsed his hair as he considered her words. Maybe he’d take it a step further, making him accept what he had to do. When he stepped out of the shower, he stood in front of the mirror, taking a pair of scissors from a drawer. He stared at his perfectly styled hair, and grinned.

Stepping out of his bathroom, he got dressed, pulling out outfit’s he hadn’t seen since he got them. He smiled, putting on a pair of jeans with a green and black over-sized hoodie. Grinning, he stepped into a pair of black and green high top sneakers. For once, he didn’t look completely like himself. He looked like who he wanted to be, and he laughed as he headed downstairs for breakfast. His father wouldn’t be home for a week, and Nathalie would have to deal with this sudden change all on her own. _Vive la rébellion adolescente._

* * *

 

Marinette on the other hand, was completely floored, not wanting to move, more or less recreate herself. She climbed onto her roof, pulling her bookbag inside. She left it on top of her bed as she groggily walked down the stairs. Six forty-five was an inhumane hour that no child should need to wake up at. It was a crime against humanity for anyone to need to be awake this early. She stared at her desk, designs scattered across it; hearing Tikki at the desk she walked to it. She was snoring, clearly tired. Had she stayed up all night talking to Plagg?

She sat at her desk, putting her head down, before a paper caught her eye. It was an old design which had fell from it’s thumbtack. Lifting it, she remembered starting to make it but giving up halfway through. It was a 50’s style red dress with white dots, and she stared at the box under her desk, remembering she had tossed the incomplete creation in there as a clothing scrap. She stood up, and slid the dusty pink box out from it’s spot, tossing the lid to the side. She gingerly took the fabric out, pressing it against her frame, and turning to look into the mirror. It was completely undone on one side, and still needed a belt and a proper collar. She smiled, as she turned on her sewing machine, setting up the dress for a thorough session of TLC.

Upon finishing, she slipped it on, realizing how delicate it fit on her. She brushed out her hair, opting to leave it loose today, pushing it back with a white headband. She looked in her closet, picking out one of her five pairs of shoes. It was a pair of plain white ballerina slippers, almost identical to her pink ones. She slipped those on as well, twirling around. She looked so vintage, brimming with **_a e s t h e t i c_ **. Glancing around the room, she slipped off the outfit she elected to wear that day, putting her pajamas back on. It was almost eight, she needed to shower. Grabbing the dress, she headed downstairs to the bathroom, leaving tikki asleep on her desk, and almost falling due to excitement. Sabine noticed her daughter dashing down the stairs, and smiled completely aware what was going on. Her daughter was finally growing out of her “ugly duckling” phase and would soon grow up. How it ached Sabine’s heart and filled her with joy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry this took longer than expected. It's mostly cause I started working on two other fics.


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